Haul: Birthday Gifts ♥

It's now time to unwrap the presents I got for my 24th birthday!

Nah, I've actually unwrapped and ate most of them a few weeks ago, but they're worth sharing so here goes! ;)

A portrait, letter, and The Body Shop Colour Crush Eyeshadow from Dawn

This one's probably one of the most priceless and sweetest present I received! My friend actually drew me! Haha! :D I'll be putting this in a frame, that's for sure! Dawn and I both love The Body Shop, as you can see. Don't forget to join our giveaway! :D

Cara Mia Brazo Gelato cake from my colleagues

Christer, Jeffery, Kurt, Bailey, Ness, and Anne

My teammates/lunch buddies surprised me with this during the weekend before my birthday. They're as sweet as this gelato cake. :D

A birthday card also from my colleagues

The card design is so me, don't you agree?

Figaro Devil's Mocha Cake from my boss, Achi V

I've already told you before, I've got cool boss. :D

Cosmopolitan dress from my sister, Melissa

Since we like the same clothes, she has another dress like this, only in a different color. Don't worry, we won't wear it both at the same time!

Starbucks tea tumbler from my sister, Vivian

My sister hates the ancient water bottle I use at the office, so she gave me this! She was planning to give me a regular coffee tumbler, but then she remembered that I'm more of a tea person, hence this one! I love that it has a leaf design where I can fasten the string of the tea bag.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writers from my sister, Cindy

She got me this because she knows that I want this, but I won't be buying this for myself anytime soon. (Hey, I was waiting for National Book Store to go on sale so I could get this at 20% off!)

OMG Nail Colors by Klik in Tiara from my sister, Ann

This was a half-hearted present from my sister! I just know. Haha! She got this for herself, but then she remembered it was my birthday that day, and handed it to me instead, and borrowed it right after a few minutes. (I said no! No using until I've taken a picture of it.) But still, thank you!

Krispy Kreme doughnuts from my friend, Pan

I love Krispy Kreme. You've witnessed it all in my blog. If you're curious, my favorite doughnut from them would be Original Glazed.

Frostings cupcakes from my friend, Lala

She's as sweet as these cupcakes! ;) This came as a surprise during our dinner at A Veneto, where the crew couldn't even sing a decent birthday song. My friends sang instead.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Skin Essentials also from my friend, Lala

Because she know that I love The Body Shop! I'm excited to try this new skincare set. And it's pink - what's not to love?

Beauty Bar's Lavender Luxury Hand Cream from my friend, Jeanne

My friend was thinking if she would give me another lippie, but figured that I already had lots. (Good thing!) She gave me a fancy hand cream instead. Much appreciated! :D

Green Tea Kit Kats from my friends

Because they know what my all-time favorite chocolate is. :D

Uji Matcha Green Tea Kit Kat from my friend, Jat

He found this in a Japanese store. Now, I want to go there and hoard!

Matcha Green Tea Kit Kat + Ghirardelli chocolates from my friend, Tope

This pack is similar to the one I received from Hong Kong, only this one he got from Japan.

Birthday cake from HEAT

Last but not the least is this birthday cake from HEAT, where my family and I celebrated my birthday dinner.

That's all for now! This one's probably my favorite haul posts, since everything here are special and from my loved ones.♥

Love,

Helen

Free Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm from Beauty Bar

Today, I dropped by Beauty Bar in Trinoma to have my old lip balm exchanged to Burt's Bees for FREE! They announced this on their Facebook page a few days ago.

Change your old lip balm with a 100% natural one for FREE.

I went there a little past 1:00PM, and there were already lots of people who had their old lip balms exchanged! (I see Carmex, Human Nature, LipSmacker, Maybelline, Nivea, and Watsons.) This exchange happened today 1:00-5:00PM, or until supplies last, which was 100 lip balms per branch.

Thank you for this, Beauty Bar!

I'm excited to try this one out! A new lip balm is always a welcome addition to my kit. Like Beauty Bar Philippines on Facebook so you don't miss out on their updates and promos. :)

Love,

Helen

My MASSIVE Maven Loot

I am honestly overwhelmed with the big surprise Maven gave me last weekend. See, I just blogged about them because I really liked the magazine - and I know a good one when I see one. I just wanted to share Maven with you guys, so you'd be convinced to grab your own copies as well! :D

After Beyond the Blush, I went to see Abi from Maven. She thanked me for being such an avid supporter of the magazine, and handed me my Maven loot bag together with tons of paper bags from different beauty brands! Really, I am the one who should be thankful! I was so stunned and happy at the same time. I was over the moon actually, super giddy and curious on what's inside my loot. I wasn't really expecting THIS much, as I was already happy with the loot bag that I got from their first event. It's like a super early Christmas gift for me! (Thank you, Maven! It was so sweet and generous of you!)

Get ready for beauty stuff overload as I present to you my massive Maven haul!

 

Athena Milk in Milk and Chocolate Flavor

I think it's a sign that I have to start drinking milk (again)! Boxes of Athena Milk have been chasing me for a while now, I almost always receive a box or two in the events that I attended, but I always end up giving them to my mom or grandmother. Now I'll be the one to drink these, just because I need to gain some weight. (But then again, it's low fat!)

Biopha Organic Shampoo

from The Souq Organics

I've been a fan of organic hair care products so I think I'm going to like this. Organic shampoos and conditioner bring out my natural hair's texture, so I get tons of bouncy waves and curls!

Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm and Burt's Bees Purse

from Beauty Bar

We can never have too many lip balms, so this one is a nice addition to my kit! The purse has a mirror inside it, but it's too small to be a makeup kit, so it will soon replace my worn out coin purse.

Fruits & Passion Orange Cantaloup Hand Cream

Fruits & Passion Fushia and Gold Body Souffle

I love lotions and body care stuff. These ones smell fruity and are perfect for travel!

Goody

I rarely have my hair up in a ponytail when I'm out, but these ones will sure come in handy for rebellious hair days! They're ouchless too - no tugging and they stay in place for long!

Kiehl's Clearly Corrective White Skin Brightening Exfoliator

Kiehl's Clearly Corrective White Clarity-Activating Toner

I don't own a face scrub, and I was planning to buy one soon, but now I don't have to! This duo will last for many months, and I hope that it delivers what it promises.

Kiehl's Creme de Corps Soy Milk & Honey Whipped Body Butter

Kiehl's Lip Balm #1

Kiehl's Activated Sun Protector SPF 50 (For Body)

This has to be my favorite part of the loot! Kiehl's Creme de Corps is my ultimate body butter dream come true! Haha! I love using body butters because they're so rich and moisturizing, so perfect for my dry legs and feet. This one from Kiehl's is so freaking expensive (it costs about P3,000, but I'm not really sure), so I always end up buying from The Body Shop (which has great body butters at a fraction of a cost, at P695 or even less if it's on sale). Happy skin! Happy lips as well because of Kiehl's Lip Balm! :D

Nivea Extra Whitening Anti-Perspirant

Nivea Extra Whitening Cell Repair & Protect Body Milk

I've also got some whitening stuff from Nivea! The anti-perspirant automatically went to my sister (she asked for it). And I got another lotion from Nivea! I feel like I won't be buying any body moisturizers until the end of the year.

Snoe Hair Heroes Honey Olive Clementine Damage Recovery Cream Shampoo

Snoe Awesome Poresome Microdermabrasion Retexturizing Polish

Snoe White No. 2 Extra Strength Glutathione Beauty Bar

Snoe Here Comes The Sunblock SPF 45

Say hello to my favorite local beauty brand, Snoe! I was so happy to see Snoe products in my loot. I love their Hair Heroes range, and this one I have now is a sulfate-free cream shampoo, perfect for my colored hair! (No sulfates = no fading!) Awesome Poresome is one of their newest product range. Their soaps are also best-sellers, as I've read in other blogs that they really work. I'm excited to try it, but I hope that it won't zap moisture off my skin. The last one is Here Comes the Sunblock, which is my favorite body sunblock.

The Blounge Free Hair Spa Treatment with Back Massage GCs

I'm not really fond of going to salons (lazy me), and my hair color is just from a DIY kit. But I will make it a point to drop by before the end of the year for another haircut. (I'm currently growing it long because my waves look better that way.)

The Body Shop Born Lippy Plum Lip Balm

I loved the Born Lippy pots before, but now that I always commute, it's not practical to use anymore because my hands get dirty, so a stick lip balm is the solution. Hooray for The Body Shop for creating the Born Lippy Stick!

The Face Shop Body Cleanser in European Flower and Oriental Flower

I love shower gels more than bar soaps, and these pretty bottles will brighten up my shower caddy.

The Face Shop Fruit Jelly Tube in RD 302

The Face Shop Baked Shimmer All-Over Illuminator in 03 Apricot Nuance

Zebra-print Pouch

I rarely wear lipgloss, but it I had to, I'd choose the most pigmented, reddest one! The other one is a baked-shimmer peachy blush/highlighter. I wished it was pink, but peach is also nice for a change. And it's free, so I really can't complain. Haha!

I've got sooo much new stuff to review. Stay tuned for my upcoming posts. Thank you so much, Maven (and sponsors), for all of these!

Let's all show Maven some love - "Like" Maven Philippines on Facebook for updates on their new issues, promos, and events! ♥

Love,

Helen